The Peoples Forum on BRICS declared that the New Development Bank has to step back and reconsider why indeed it was established. In so doing, NDB must pro-actively reach out to peoples movements, trade unions, civil society organisations and peoples networks genuinely working with poor and impacted communities, rather than finding comfort in plush and polite consultations held with fellow bankers, bureaucrats, key politicians and cherry-picking “NGOs” who conform with rather than critically engage the NDB.

Originally posted on Lets Talk Financial Accountability: ~ Joe Athialy After the storm of demonetisation, which unsettled the economy back home, India is hosting the 2nd annual meeting of New Development Bank (NDB) from March 31 – April 2. NDB is the financial arm of BRICS – a grouping of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India,…

NDB has not felt the need to define the concept of Sustainable infrastructure. This leaves the door open for investments which are profit oriented and not completely sustainable in nature. Moreover with lack of transparency and redressal mechanism, the affected communities would have no recourse to file their complaints and concerns.

“New Development Bank – Peoples Perspectives”, a day-long convention is planned in New Delhi on the 30th of March 2017. The convention would look at various trends in development finance, mechanisms to monitor trade and finance in BRICS, and what is at stake with the emergence of these new players.

What is the effect of changes in the working world through digitization and automation for workers’ rights and trade union representation? What does postindustrialism mean for us and catching up in the global South? How do we deal with new technologies to combat global warming? How do all these challenges change social relations and gender relations? How can the inequality between and in our countries be further deepened?

The 1.2 billion Africans, mostly women, youth, unemployed, self-employed, underemployed, the millions who live on less than 1 dollar a day, the small enterprises that drive local economies will not be invited to attend the highly secretive WEF on Africa. Please join us to plan a PEOPLE’S ECONOMIC FORUM for the rest of us who will not be attending the WEF on AFRICA.

The Coming War on China is John Pilger’s 60th film for ITV. Pilger reveals what the news doesn’t – that the world’s greatest military power, the United States, and the world’s second economic power, China, both nuclear-armed, are on the road to war. Pilger’s film is a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.

Patrick Bond writes: The weeks following an underwhelming Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) mid-September summit in Goa and the United States presidential election in November have unveiled ever-widening contradictions.

We intend to win our demands for social, economic and environmental justice. The victories we have won already on multiple fronts – such as halting numerous multinational corporations’ exploitation, gaining access to essential state services, occupying land and creating agricultural cooperatives, and generating more humane values in our societies – give us momentum and optimism.